District/School Administration Administration
The Massachusetts Board of Elementary and Secondary Education

Briefing for the February 24, 2009 Meeting of the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education

The next regular meeting of the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education will be on Tuesday, February 24, 2009, at the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education's offices at 75 Pleasant Street in Malden. The meeting will start at 8:30 a.m. (coffee will be available at 8) and will adjourn by 1 p.m. If you need overnight accommodations or any additional information about the schedule, please call Beverley O'Riordan at (781) 338-3118.

Overview

The agenda for our February meeting includes a presentation on the Massachusetts Teaching, Learning and Leading Survey (Mass TeLLS) report; an update on the state education budget, discussion of the suspension of MCAS history and social science testing in 2009 and 2010 and a possible vote this month on waiving the Competency Determination requirement in history for the classes of 2012 and 2013; a report on the work we are doing to redesign our state system of accountability and assistance; initial discussion of proposed revisions to the graduation rate standard for FY09 AYP determinations; and discussion and vote on a proposed new charter, six charter renewals, and conditions for two charter schools.

Comments from the Chair

Chair Banta will report on current issues and activities, including her appointment of a committee on the proficiency gap and her work on the governmental affairs committee of the National Association of State Boards of Education (NASBE).

Comments from the Commissioner

1. Rennie Center report on promising practices to reduce the dropout rate. The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education co-sponsored an event on February 12th with the Rennie Center for Education Research and Policy and the Youth Transitions Task Force/Boston Private Industry Council/Jobs for the Future to focus attention on a new Rennie Center policy brief, "Ahead of the Curve: Promising Practices for Reducing the Dropout Rate." The Rennie Center's research on schools and districts that have reduced their dropout rates over the past four years is encouraging. We will continue to work closely with schools and districts as well as our partner organizations on this important initiative.

2. Fall River Public Schools. Early in January 2009, Fall River Mayor Robert Correia agreed that the Fall River school district was in critical need of an evaluation by our Department in light of the recent transition of school leadership. The mayor shared my belief that a comprehensive external review of district practices could yield findings and recommendations that would benefit the students and schools of Fall River. The review team spent several days in Fall River gathering information, observing classroom instruction, and conducting extensive interviews. I expect to have the team's report in time for our Board meeting on February 24th, and we will discuss it in connection with agenda item 4.

3. Reports to the Legislature. The Department is filing several reports with the Legislature, in response to directives included in the FY09 budget and the General Laws:

   • Equity Effects of Regional Allocation Methodology on Regional Vocational Technical Schools    reports on the current method, used since FY05, designed to eliminate the underlying inequities in the base contributions of towns belonging to multiple school districts to ensure that a town's required school contributions are fairly allocated amongst the various school districts to which it may belong.
   • School Breakfast and Summer Food Service Outreach reports on these two key programs with the goal of increasing participation in both programs, with state emphasis on increasing the participation of needy children. Statistics from 1993 to 2008 are included.
   • Mathematics and Science Teacher Content-Based Professional Development continues to address the critical need for state funds to support mathematics and science in education and the work the Department is doing in Teacher Professional Development Institutes, Massachusetts Intel Mathematics Initiative, ALEKS Mathematics MTEL Preparation Study, and the Massachusetts Mathematics and Science Initiative.
   • Kindergarten Development Grants: Transition Planning for Full-day Kindergarten and Quality Full-day Kindergarten provides an update on the status of universal, voluntary full-day kindergarten as a component of an early education and care system for children birth to third grade and the two grant programs implemented by the Department to provide transition assistance from part-day programs to full-day programs and to improve the quality of full-day kindergarten programs.

Comments from the Secretary

Secretary Reville will brief the Board on current issues and activities.

Items for Discussion and Action

1. Mass TeLLS (Massachusetts Teaching, Learning and Leading Survey) Report - Discussion

   Representatives from the Massachusetts Teachers Association will be at our meeting to present the results of the Massachusetts Teaching, Learning and Leading Survey (Mass TeLLS). This statewide survey was conducted by the New Teacher Center at the University of California-Santa Cruz and was sponsored by a coalition of seven Massachusetts education groups, two foundations, two policy centers, and Governor Patrick. More than 40,000 teachers and administrators - over half the state's teaching force - participated in the survey last year. The survey's findings are very interesting and I expect they will play a role in our work going forward as we examine teaching conditions and professional development offerings.

2. Update on State Education Budget - Discussion

   I will update the Board on our budget planning, including the latest information we have on the federal economic stimulus package. Secretary Reville will brief the Board on the education budget perspective from the Governor's office.

3. MCAS History and Social Science/U.S. History Assessments: Suspension of 2009 and 2010 Testing - Discussion and Possible Vote to Waive Regulation

   I recommend that the Board vote to waive the history and social science requirement for a Competency Determination (CD) for the classes of 2012 and 2013, because budget constraints will not allow us to implement the full MCAS testing program as planned. In order to preserve the current English language arts, mathematics, and science and technology/engineering assessment program, we must suspend MCAS history and social science testing scheduled for spring 2009 and 2010. Without the 2009 and 2010 administrations of the history and social science tests, we cannot set standards and provide curriculum feedback to students and schools in time for the scheduled implementation of the history requirement for the CD in 2012 and 2013. In addition, I believe it is imprudent to add history to the CD requirement when state funding for academic support and other resources for intervening with students who have not yet met the requirement are unlikely to increase and may be reduced.

   This is listed as a "possible vote" on waiving the CD regulation because the usual course under the Board's bylaws is to discuss policy matters at one meeting and vote at the next meeting. I would encourage the Board to waive its bylaw and vote this month, to give the field as much advance notice as possible. Alternatively, the Board may choose to wait and vote in March.

4. State System of Accountability and Assistance: Next Steps in Accountability and Assistance Redesign - Discussion

   We deferred this item from the January 2009 meeting. As we discussed with the Board in October 2008, the Department is undertaking a redesign of the framework for school and district accountability and assistance. Deputy Commissioner Karla Brooks Baehr and Associate Commissioner Lynda Foisy will report on our progress and anticipated next steps. We will also brief the Board on our review of the Fall River school district, which is going through a leadership transition. The Board-appointed Advisory Council on Accountability and Assistance has been meeting since November and its chair, Joseph Esposito, will present a report to the Board this month. I will also update the Board on our progress in developing an MCAS growth model.

5. Proposed Revisions to Graduation Rate Standard for FY09 AYP Determinations - Initial Discussion

   The Department released the annual report on school district graduation rates on February 4th. At our February 24th meeting we will have an initial discussion of changes I am recommending to the graduation rate standards used in our determinations of adequate yearly progress (AYP) in order to comply with federal requirements. The Board will vote on this matter next month.

6. Charter Schools:

   1. New Charter Applicants - Discussion and Vote

      Last month we provided the Board with an overview of the process for reviewing and granting new charters and a summary of the three charter applications that were pending. After careful review, I am recommending that the Board grant a charter to the Gloucester Community Arts Charter School, which would open in 2010 on condition that the final approved FY10 state budget provides full foundation funding to Gloucester. Detailed information about the review process and the proposed charter school is enclosed. Associate Commissioner Jeff Wulfson and Charter Schools Director Mary Street will be at the Board meeting to respond to questions about charter school matters.

   2. Charter Renewals for Six Schools: Barnstable Horace Mann, Marstons Mills Horace Mann, Boston Preparatory, River Valley, Roxbury Preparatory, and Salem Academy - Discussion and Vote

      The Board had an initial discussion on the charter renewals for these six charter schools - Barnstable Horace Mann, Marstons Mills Horace Mann, Boston Preparatory, River Valley, Roxbury Preparatory, and Salem Academy - at the January 2009 meeting. I recommend that the Board vote on these renewals this month. By the way, the education-related news clips in your materials under Tab 7 include a recent article from Education Week about the impressive performance of Roxbury Preparatory Charter School in preparing middle school students for success in high school and college.

   3. Report on Conditions for Benjamin Banneker and North Central Charter Schools - Discussion and Vote

      The Board renewed the charter of Benjamin Banneker Charter Public School in Cambridge with three conditions in January 2006. This month I am reporting on the school's progress and recommending that the Board place the school on probation with specified conditions. The Board renewed the charter of North Central Charter Essential School in Fitchburg with four conditions in February 2007. The school has met three of the conditions, and I am recommending that the Board extend the fourth condition.

Other Items for Information

7. Education-Related News Clippings

   Enclosed are several recent articles about education.

8. Report on Grants and Charter School Extended Loan Terms Approved by Commissioner

   Under Tab 8 is a report on grants that I have approved, per the Board's vote in October 2008 to delegate grant approvals to the commissioner. This authorization allows us to make decisions and inform grant applicants on a timely basis. The Board also delegated authority to me to approve extended loan terms for charter schools, a routine administrative matter. I have not approved any such loan terms since my last report.

9. Inventory of Department Activities Related to 21st Century Skills Task Force Recommendations

   In advance of further discussion of the report of the Board's Task Force on 21st Century Skills, we are providing, for your information, two documents to illustrate the connections between the work of the Department, the goals and priorities agreed to by the Board last summer, and the Task Force's recommendations. We are continuing to learn about initiatives underway in schools and districts in Massachusetts that integrate these skills in the classroom and will compile this information for a report to the Board in the spring.

10. Directions to the Meeting

If you have questions about any agenda items, please call me. I look forward to seeing you at our new offices in Malden on February 24th.